Air-ship.



No. 764,198. PATENTED JULY 5, 1904. J. D. MOFARLAND, JB. AIR SHIP APPLIOATION FILED JULY 23. 1900. l

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTEDl JULY 5, 1904.

J. D. MGFARLAND, Jg.

K AIR SHIP. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 23, 1900.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NO MODEL.

PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

J. D. MOFARLAND, JB.

AIR SHIP.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 2a, 1900.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

'4 SHBETS-SHEBT 4.

AIR SHIP.

is? [v J. D. MGFARLAND, Jn.

APPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 23, 1900.

No MODEL.

UNITED STATES J AMES DRAYTON MGFARLAND, JR.,

Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

oE EEUITVALE, oALIEoENIA, As-

CALIFORNIA.

Ana-stm.v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,198, dated July 5, 1904.

Application filed July 23, 1900.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES DRAYTON Me- FARLAND, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Fruitvale, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Air-Ships; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a novel construction of an apparatus designed to rise and move through the air and in operating mechanism therefor.

It consists of a main body, with skeleton framework, braces, and supports therefor and an exterior covering, one or more propellers, located vertically with relation to the apparatus, having adjustable blades, engines revoluble with the propellers and connected directly with the shaft thereof, means for supplying' the propelling power to said engines, means for adjusting the propeller-blades so that they will act to raise the apparatus into the air and afterward adjusting said blades so that they may act as aeroplanes.

It also comprises propellers at the ends of the apparatus and engines by which they are driven, so as to propel the machine through the air after it has been elevated.

My invention also comprises details in the construction of the engines whereby they are adapted to this peculiar apparatus.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal sketch through the ship. Fig. Q is a lateral section of the same on line rv a', Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top view of the elevating mechanism. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail of the inside structure.' Fig. 6 is a sectional View of fluid-regulating device. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the rear end chamber, showing means for operating the end propellers. Figs. S and 9 show manner of keeping cylinders cool. Fig. lO is a section through the elevating mechanism shown in Fig. 4.

The body of the machine is essentially of a cigar shape or having the largest diameter in the neighborhood of the center and converging' to pointed ends. Extending longi- Serial No. 24,598. (No model.)

tudinally through this structure are the rods or tubes A, which form the backbone of the ship. It is to be noted that these tubes are eccentric to the axis of the ship, and the idea is to give not only additional strength and rigidity, but to leave a clear space through which the shafts carrying the aeroplanes may operate, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 and as will be hereinafter described. Around each of the tubes A are collars 2, which equal in num ber the ribs 3 of the apparatus, these ribs standing transversely to the longitudinal tubes A. Through the collars and parallel with the tubes are a series of holes adapted to receive the stay or brace wires 4, and through each of the ribs are holes also made adapted to rcceive the other ends of these wires. The ribs being placed in position and firmly secured to the tubes or rods and having the collars in position, the braces 4, which consist of light piano-wire, are laced back and forth through the collar and rib holes, so as to give the greatest strength and stability with the least possible weight, as indicated in Fig. 5. Around the outer surface and secured to the ribs is now stretched a network of line steel wire, as at 5. I mention the network of wire, but desire to use any material which may be suitable for the purpose, the network being the equivalent for any material. Over this network is stretched a fabric composed of light non-porous paper, strengthened with light silk, cheese-cloth, or other material, to which it may be secured with waterproofl glue or other cement, and over this may be placed another network of fine steel wire. The paper, being' less porous to the escape of gas, is. very'suitable for this purpose, and the sup-l porting' and inclosing networks will protect it from being torn. This outer shell may be divided horizontally at any convenient height from the bottom with a similar cloth, paper, and wire-netting fabric 6, and the upper portion may be used as a receptacle for buoyant gas, and the lower portion for passengers or anything whichit may be desired to carry, also the mechanism for actuating the engines, batteries, &c. Compressed gas or air tanks may be also carried in this portion of the apparatus to be used for the propulsion of the various engines. Iherever the stays or the tubes pass through this partition or diaphragm they are made gas-tight by suitable collars or packing, through which the stays pass.

At each end of the apparatus are small compartments 7, in which are located engines for driving the forward and rear propellers 8 and 9. These propellers have their axis of rotation in the line of the direction of travel of the apparatus andare designed to drive the machine in either' direction. They may be so mounted as to change their angle to assist in steering the apparatus, as shown in 7.

In order to elevate the apparatus, I employ one or more propellers turnable upon vertical aXcs and located above the body of the apparatus. These propellers consist of blades 10, mounted upon suitable supporting arms or rods, as 11, and properly braced to give them the greatest possible strength. These blades are here shown as carried upon a vertical hollow stationary tube H, in which is formed a iXcd crank 22, about which the blades revolve. The blades of the propellers may be two or more in number and preferably of large area. I have shown these blades as being made with the under surface concaved, and the angle at which the blades stand may be altered by means of crank-arms, as 13, and connecting-rods 14 from said arms guided and slidable and extending downwardly into the occupied compartment of the apparatus, where they are actuated by a handle or lever, as 15. This lever 15 is fulcrumed on asleeve 21, turnable and slidable on the stationary tube H. The sleeve is slotted at 21u and 21h. The ends of the rods 14 are pivoted to blocks 21, which are slidable and guided in the slots 211. (See Fig. 10.) The lever 15 is fulcrumed, so that one end will be moved upwardly and the other correspondingly drawn down, and through the connecting-rods acting upon the crank-arms 13 the latter will be turned in opposite directions, while the blades will be moved or tilted in the same direction in relation to each other.

Pivoted upon a ring L in the slot-spaces 211 are the arms 17. Ring L is turnable in unison with the sleeve 21 about the tube H and is held in place by means of a groove in the latter. Slots 21" in sleeve 21 are elongated to accommodate the arm-pivots and to allow the sleeve to slide up and down on the shaft independently of said arms. Each of the arms 17 is connected with a respective blade 1() by means of the brace-wires 16, whereby the structure is strengthened and stiifened. The sleeve being movable independently of the arms, the tension of the wires is never varied, while the arms allow the blades to tilt suliiciently for all purposes.

The longitudinal vertical movement of the sleeve 21 is effected by means of a lever 18,

fulcrumed upon tube H. The forked end of this lever is suitably connected with the sleeve by means of a ring 18, whereby the rotation of the sleeve is not interfered with. It is by means of the lever 18 that the inclination of the propellers is changed to give them the required pitch for ascensional and descensional purposes. It is to be assumed that when the levers 15 and 18 are both horizontal the blades will also be in a horizontal or neutral .position. To ascend, the lever 18 will be operated, say, to raise the sleeve, carrying with it the rods 14L and 14 simultaneously, and thereby tilting the blades to the proper angle. IVhen the desired altitude has been attained, the engines and propellers are stopped, the lever 18 moved to bring the blades into the same plane, and then by means of the lever 15 the blades are tilted in unison to any desired angle to form an aeroplane. The ship is then driven through the air by means of the propellers 8 and 9.

In order to reduce the weight of the apparatus as much as possible, I have shown an arrangement of engines consisting of a plurality of cylinders 19, supported by a peripheral rim 20, which is connected with and carries the propeller-vanes. These pistons are connected with a common iiXed crank 2Q on tube II, against which the pressure of the plungers alternately acts, so that the cylinders being' forced outwardly at an angle from this iiXed support will act to revolve the ring 20 and the propellers which are connected therewith by their arms or shafts 11, journaled in the ring, anda central support turnable about the end of tube H. For a type of engine herein referred to see, for example, Patent No. 668,451, February 19, 1901. The engine-pistons and the crank 22 are hollow, and. the propelling medium is admitted to the cylinders from the reservoir F through the stationary tube H. The latter is firmly stepped in the ribs or skeleton structure of the frame and forms a sufficient support for the propellers and engines. Sleeve 21 and rods 14 have a gas-tight sliding fit through plates 5, which are turnable with the sleeve and propellers. Any gas or air under pressure may be employed to aetuate these engines. Fluid under pressure is supplied from a suitable compression tank or tanks F, carried in the lower part of the apparatus at a high pressure, and this gas may be delivered from the containing-chan'iber through a passageway, as 24, which is controlled by a slidable gate 25. This gate is connectedv with a fulcrumed lever 26, and connecting with this lever at the opposite side of its fulcrum from the gate 25 is a plunger 27, movable in a plunger-chamber and having open communication 27" with the passage or chamber into which the fluid is allowed to liow from the compression-tanks. Whenever the fluid in this part of the apparatus reaches a working pressure,

IOO

IIO

which is determined by the location of the weight 28 on the gate-controlling lever, the

pressure of the liuid beneath the piston 27 will raise the piston and will tilt the level', so as to close the gate 25 and prevent further admission of the iluid until the pressure has become reduced upon the receiving side. This device thus acts as a constant governor land pressure reducer, allowing only sufficient pressure in the receiver to properly operate the engines.

Any suitable valve arrangement may be employed to supply the fluid under pressure to the engine-cylinders to revolve the propellers in either direction.

The structure will be made in the lightest possible form. The tubes which form the main frames may be made of steel, so as to be very rigid, and with the steel piano-wire bracing and ribs will form a structure exceedingly light and rigid. The other parts may be made, many of them, of aluminium, and by reason of the location of the engines within a ring carried by the propellers will reduce the weight of shafting and other connections ordinarily necessary for such purposes.

I have only described in detail engines suflicient to drive the vertically-disposed elevating'- propellers; but it will be understood that any similar or equivalent engines may be employed for each of the propellers at the ends of the machines, and the fluid for driving these engines can be led to them through suitable pipes.

The cylinders are kept cool in case eXplosive gas is used as a medium of propulsion by means of aluminium wings or coils 29, surrounding the cylinders, this material forming a very superior radiator, Figs. 6 and 9.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an aerial machine, the combination with a buoyant body, of a stationary vertical shaft, horizontal arms rotatable about said shaft, means supported by said arms and shaft for rotating said arms, and propeller-blades carried by said arms.

2. In an aerial machine, the combination with a buoyant body, of a stationary vertical shaft, horizontal arms rotatable about said shaft, means for rotating said arms, and propeller-blades pivotally supported on said arms, and turnable at right angles to the length of said arms.

3. In an aerial machine thel combination with a buoyant body, of a vertical stationary crank-shaft rigid with said body, horizontal arms supported by and turnable about said shaft, a ring carried by and rigid with said arms, engines supported by said ring and crank-shaft to give motion to the ring, and propeller-blades carried by` said arms.

4. In an aerial machine the combination with a buoyant body, of a stationary vertical shaft, a plurality of rotary engines disposed in a horizontal plane and operatable about said shaft as a center, arms connected with the shaft and supporting said engines and turnable therewith, and propeller-blades mounted on said arms.

5. In an aerial machinethe combination with a buoyant body, a stationary vertical shaft, horizontal arms rotatable about said shaft, means for so rotating said arms, propeller-,blades supported on said arms and tiltable in a direction at right angles to the length of the arms, and means for tilting said blades and locking them at any desired angle relative to each other.

6. In an aerial machine, the combination with a buoyant body, a vertical stationary shaft, arms supported on and rotatable about said shaft, means for so rotating said arms, propeller-blades pivoted to said arms, lateral adjustable supports for the blades rotatable with the blades, and separate means for tilting the blades relative to a horizontal plane.

7 In an aerial machine, the combination with a buoyant body, a vertical stationary shaft, arms supported on and rotatable with the shaft, meansfor rotating said arms, propeller-blades pivoted to said arms and turnable at right angles to the length of their respective arms, lateral adjustable supports for the blades, and separate means including a sleeve slidable on the shaft for adjusting the tilt of the blades relative to a horizontal plane.

JAMES DRAYTON llICFAItLANI), JR.

Witnesses:

Guo. H. GREENOUGH, RAYMOND KENNEDY. 

